Afterthe war was won,
a constitution had to be created. The Constitutional Congress
met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft a new Constitution. Pennsylvania
sent eight delegates, including Benjamin Franklin, and Pennsylvania
became the second state to ratify the Constitution. From 1790
to 1800 Philadelphia served as the capital of the United States.

The Early Republic had its fair share of trouble, such as
the Whiskey Rebellion, which was a culminant of the strife
between the Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican
Party, and the War of 1812, yet another war against England
on American soil. Lake Erie played an important role during
the War of 1812 in the battle at Put-in-Bay, which proved
victorious for the United States. This victory gave the U.S.
control of the Great Lakes, which was central in keeping the
British from crossing the lakes from Canada to United States.
Many of the soldiers, sailors and shipbuilders who went to
Lake Erie during the war remained there after the war, helping
to build an economy based on manufacturing, shipping and agriculture.

Immigration saw an increase during the early republic years.
American independence and opposition to England was highly
appealing to the Irish, who had been battling the English
for centuries. This led to an increase in immigration from
Ireland. Many of the Irish immigrants to Pennsylvania were
part of the Irish Volunteers, a group that led an uprising
in Ireland in 1798. The insurrection was squashed, and many
of the Volunteers fled to the United States. After the Revolution,
Italian and Jewish immigration into Pennsylvania began growing
as well.

Page 7

By
Rickie LazzeriniHistorianBA History
University of California, Santa Barbara